For You
by Brandywine421
Summary: Brennan has to reveal everything he has worked to hide in order to save himself--R for language--Actually updated again by the slacker author 7.8.03
1. One

1 Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X or any of its characters so please don't sue me for imagination…  
  
2  
  
3  
  
4 "And I have learned so much since you've been gone,  
  
And I have done so little for so long…"  
  
Dashboard Confessional  
  
5  
  
6 "Brennan…"  
  
He can feel the restraints cutting welts into the flesh of his wrists. He can't see anything, but he realizes that he is helpless.  
  
"Tell me where he is…" The voice urges. Brennan feels a surge of hot energy throughout his body, wracking him with pain.  
  
The voice is inside his head and Brennan, in his confusion, struggles more desperately to escape. He feels blood start to coat his hands where he is wrestling with his bonds.  
  
"Tell me where he is, Brennan…"  
  
Another surge of energy agonizes his body.  
  
"BRENNAN!" The voice is shrill and panicked and echoes in his head. He feels a jolt and suddenly he can see.  
  
"Brennan?" Emma's voice is quieter now and he thinks he was dreaming. He tries to turn his head toward her voice but he realizes that he cannot move.  
  
"It's not over…" The voice says in his head. Brennan slams into his bed, his head bouncing off the headboard violently. It doesn't occur to him that he was levitating when his team found him.  
  
Adam and Shalimar catch him as his body limply starts to slide off the bed.  
  
"Let go of me…I don't have control…" Brennan manages to choke, his lungs lacking oxygen.  
  
As soon as they release him, energy bolts pin his body to the floor. Brennan closes his eyes in pain.  
  
"Adam, you have to do something," Emma pleads.  
  
"What is going on?" Jesse asks, entering drowsily.  
  
The electricity dissipates and Brennan lies limp on the floor. Adam goes to his side. "He's not breathing." He starts compressions on Brennan's chest.  
  
"Emma heard noises coming from Brennan's room. When she came in, she found him levitating and bleeding from his wrists, like he was trying to get untied."  
  
Brennan gasps suddenly, the compressions reviving him.  
  
"Brennan?" Emma calls.  
  
Brennan sits up suddenly, disoriented, and pushes himself into the corner.  
  
"Brennan, its Adam…you're safe…" Adam says, trying to calm the panicked man.  
  
"Shit…what the hell was that?" Brennan pants, his breathing bordering on hyperventilation.  
  
"What do you remember?" Adam asks, too worried to disguise his concern from his team.  
  
"I was tied up…" Brennan glances at his bloody hands and raw wrists. "I couldn't see and someone was shocking me…" His eyes glaze for a moment and a flash of white pain stabs into his mind.  
  
"Brennan?" Adam asks.  
  
"What do you want?" Brennan asks, his psyche focusing on the pain. In reality, his body begins to float as sparks dance from his clenched fists.  
  
6.1 "Tell me where he is and I'll stop the pain forever…"  
  
"Who?" Brennan asks as pressure starts to build on his chest, taking his breath.  
  
"Britt…tell me where Britt is…"  
  
Brennan gasps and the pressure hurts him as it continues to build. "Never…I'll never tell…" Something slams into his chest and his teammates hear the cracking of ribs.  
  
"Get out of my head!" Brennan says, struggling to breathe as he returns to the floor.  
  
Emma reaches out and touches Brennan before Adam can stop her. She immediately senses the intensity and panicked fear in his mind as well as an outside psyche.  
  
"What do you want from Brennan?" Emma asks, looking for the intruder.  
  
A faceless figure turns to her. "I want to know where Britt is…"  
  
"You'll have to kill me first…" Brennan says before pushing them both out of his mind.  
  
"Keep them out of my head…she's killing me…" Brennan pleads, his eyes closed, his bleeding hands covering his face. When he lowers his hands, blood can be seen on his lips.  
  
"What is going on, Emma? Did you see anything?" Shalimar questions.  
  
"Somebody's in his head, must be another psionic, and she wants to know where somebody named Britt is. Brennan…"  
  
"It's not possible, nobody knows he exists…" Brennan breathes, his eyes distant with pain and slight mania.  
  
"Brennan, I want you to take a deep breath and relax, okay?" Adam urges.  
  
"You don't understand," Brennan replies, his eyes revealing that he doesn't know where he is. "He's safe…I gave up everything to make him safe…"  
  
Jesse and Shalimar pull Brennan to his feet and lead him unsteadily to the lab. He is docile and allows himself to be led into the lab and onto a table.  
  
"Emma, see if you can calm him down, his readings are…unstable as hell…" Adam says, after scanning him quickly.  
  
Emma takes Brennan's hand and soon is inside his mind.  
  
"Brennan, its Emma…"  
  
"Emma…how can I keep her out of my head? I can't let her find him…" Brennan says, his mind filled with noise and chaos.  
  
"Brennan. She's gone. Calm down and talk to me. You're safe," Emma says, soothingly.  
  
"But Britt's not safe if she knows he's alive," Brennan replies, the thought a whisper.  
  
"Brennan. You have to tell us what you're talking about so we can help you. Okay? I need you to take a deep breath and come back to us. You can control yourself, can't you?" Emma urges.  
  
Brennan nods and she leaves his mind.  
  
"Brennan?" Shalimar says, her eyes concerned. He looks at her, aware of his surroundings. "You're shaking."  
  
"Sorry," Brennan replies, quiet.  
  
"You okay?" She asks, searching his face for an answer.  
  
"Nope," He answers.  
  
"Brennan, who is after you?" Adam asks, relieved at Brennan's coherence.  
  
"She's not after me. She's after Britt," Brennan replies flatly.  
  
"Who's Britt?" Emma questions.  
  
"Britt is my brother," Brennan replies.  
  
"What? There's nothing in your file about a brother…" Adam replies, surprised.  
  
"My file's bullshit. It's all fabricated. It took years of work to create that file and distribute it. Nobody should know he exists. Nobody," Brennan says.  
  
"How can you be sure?" Jesse asks.  
  
"Because we killed them all," Brennan replies. 


	2. Two

"Wait. You better start from the beginning," Adam says, after a long pause.  
  
"We were thorough. No one should know he's alive," Brennan says, losing his focus again.  
  
"Brennan, tell us," Emma urges.  
  
Brennan shakes as his emotions start to overcome him. He is silent for several minutes but when he looks up again, his face is placid.  
  
"Britt and I were born two minutes apart. We were identical except he had dark blue eyes and I have brown eyes. When we were five, our parents were murdered. They were doused in gasoline and burned to death…" Brennan pauses, shuddering. "Britt and I were taken to a government facility, not associated with anyone like Genomex, but equally as evil. We stayed there until we were 13 and we escaped."  
  
Emma senses something. "Brennan, you escaped? You were a prisoner there?"  
  
"Not a prisoner. An experiment. It's not important," Brennan says, shortly, his eyes clouded.  
  
"Go on," Adam encourages, glancing at Emma.  
  
"Britt and I weren't identical twins. I'm just an elemental, but Britt had something more. He could move things with his mind. He was psionic. He could throw fire with his hands. I once saw him heal someone by touching them."  
  
"Brennan," Adam starts.  
  
"I know it sounds impossible but I'm not lying. Once we got out, we knew that they would never give up until they found him. He was just too powerful for them to let him go." Brennan looks down. "We hacked into the files and altered everything we could get away with. Then we set up surveillance. When the time was right and all the key people were there, we blew the compound."  
  
"I remember the rumors about that," Adam nods. "What about…"  
  
"Britt and I released all the other kids. They helped us with the destruction of the compound. I know we probably murdered some innocent people, but at the time, we had no other choice. I will never forgive myself for what happened, but we were kids…there's no excuse…" Brennan starts to tremble again.  
  
"Go on," Adam says, his face unreadable.  
  
"Britt was a genius. His powers were growing even at 13. He found a way to stall the mutations and he got our powers under control. We had to find a way to get out of sight, quick. I convinced him that if we stuck together that they'd find us. He wouldn't have survived another stint in a place like that…it would have broken him…so we eliminated all proof of his existence. We changed everything. We knew that the government would probably have some records that we couldn't access, so we inserted false information indicating that he died in the explosion at the compound," Brennan says.  
  
"So what happened to him?" Jesse questions.  
  
Brennan shudders. "Britt and I had a telepathic connection. We could talk to each other without words and we could feel each other's pain. Britt stifled the connection when he was slowing our mutations. I helped him create his new identity and I left. The understanding was that we should never meet again."  
  
"You've never seen him since?" Adam asks.  
  
"Never. It would put him at risk. He's too important. If Eckhart knew that there was a mutant with combination powers, he'd never give up until he found him." Brennan finishes.  
  
"Okay. Let's get you patched up and we'll discuss our options. Jesse, I want you to go on the web and find any information about the compound…" Adam begins.  
  
"I told you we altered everything and I meant it. Britt created a virus and every time someone accesses a database, the information is changed." Brennan's eyes cloud over as he loses himself in thought.  
  
"Brennan…" Emma says, approaching him. "I feel like there are some things you aren't telling us."  
  
Brennan glances up at her, his face a mask. "Of course there are."  
  
To Be Continued. 


	3. Three

-Note to readers—sorry if my use of present tense bothers anyone, I just seem to write better using it and every time I've used past tense I've gotten flames for accidentally switching between the two so I've decided to stick with present because at least it's the same throughout. Thanks for the reviews though!! I'll try to work on my past tense for future stories since it's such a big deal.  
  
Another note: Hope to have this finished in the next 2 days or expect a long delay for the finale, so give my muses mad props…  
  
  
  
Adam emptied the lab as he prepared to treat Brennan's wounds.  
  
"Adam, I'm sorry I didn't tell you…" Brennan starts.  
  
"You said you gave up everything to protect him, Brennan. What did you mean by that?" Adam asks, quietly.  
  
Brennan shakes his head, slowly. "It was a long time ago, Adam. I thought I had worked past it; it took me years to get past what happened."  
  
"Tell me, Brennan," Adam urges.  
  
"The years in the compound were hard, Adam. I have tried to black them out but I'll never forget what happened there…how we were treated…I tried to protect him but they…they separated us and I couldn't help him." Brennan glances up at Adam, his face blank. "So once we were free, I promised myself that I would protect him. He was so special, Adam; he could help so many people. We decided that he should be the one that should live a normal life…or as normal as any new mutant could expect. He's somewhere that he can help people like us without any chance of being detected."  
  
"You're sure about that? After all these years, you're sure he's still happy with the decision you guys made at 13? You were kids, Brennan…" Adam starts.  
  
"No, we weren't kids after spending 8 years in that place…" Brennan says quietly. "We made a promise, Adam. It was for his protection…"  
  
"What about your protection? This person is able to hurt you, physically, from a distant location. What if she kills you?"  
  
"What am I supposed to do, Adam? He's my brother. If I rush out to where he is, she'll find him. If I try to contact him…"  
  
"She'll find him regardless, Brennan. We have to find him first and protect him," Adam says.  
  
Brennan shakes his head. "I don't want to take that risk…I've spent my whole life hiding this secret…" He begins. He suddenly stops and takes a deep breath.  
  
"Brennan?" Adam asks, pausing with his scanner.  
  
"I think I need some sleep, Adam. You think I'll survive until morning?" Brennan asks, glaring at the scanner.  
  
"Sure. I want you to sleep here, though, so we can keep an eye on you."  
  
Adam sighs, realizing that he is not getting through to Brennan.  
  
"Thanks, Adam."  
  
Brennan lies down on the bed and is soon sleeping, exhausted from his dream battle with his attacker.  
  
Outside, Adam meets with Shalimar, Emma and Jesse who are unable to sleep due to their concern.  
  
"Adam, what are we going to do? Whoever's after him almost killed him tonight," Emma says, worried.  
  
"I don't know, Emma. Brennan is totally against trying to contact his brother, he thinks it will put him in danger."  
  
"But Brennan's already in danger," Shalimar replies.  
  
Adam sighs.  
  
"Adam, Brennan says his brother severed the telepathic connection they had, is it possible that we could reopen the connection? Then Brennan could warn Britt and not have to be anywhere near him," Jesse suggests.  
  
Adam considers this, silently.  
  
"If the mutant that attacked Brennan tonight is as powerful as she seems, she could possibly tap into the connection and reach Britt the same way she's reaching Brennan. He would never go for that," Emma replies.  
  
Inside the lab, Brennan is still sleeping.  
  
"Brennan…didn't think I forgot about you, did you? Where is Britt?" The voice is louder this time, and Brennan is restrained against a flat surface, almost like a stretcher.  
  
"No…" Brennan starts to protest but he feels a tight strap tightening around his wounded ribcage.  
  
"Tell me, Brennan and the pain will stop…" The voice threatens. Brennan feels a blade run down the length of his arm, slicing his flesh.  
  
"Who are you?" Brennan asks, the pain filling him.  
  
"Someone who remember everything. Tell me where he is…"  
  
Brennan cannot contain the sound of pain that escapes his mouth as a burning ember burns into his skin.  
  
Adam and Shalimar reach the lab first at the sound of his pain. His right arm is slashed and dripping blood and they see developing burns on his other arm.  
  
"Brennan…wake up, Brennan," Shalimar says, shaking him urgently.  
  
"I don't know who your friends are, Brennan, but they can't protect you from me…tell me where Britt is, NOW," The voice demands.  
  
Brennan's eyes open inside his nightmare and he recognizes his assailant.  
  
"You…" Brennan whispers. "Rorie…"  
  
"Yes, me…I'm going to find him if I have to kill you to do it…" Rorie whispers.  
  
"Rorie..." Brennan says, struggling intensely. "You're dead…"  
  
"You thought I burned in the fire?" She laughs. "You and your brother almost succeeded but I survived…in a coma all these years, but I survived and lived to restore all the data you and your brother destroyed…and now I want him back…"  
  
Brennan cannot speak because of his agony.  
  
"But since you remember me so well, you probably remember what I'm capable of doing to you…" Rorie laughs.  
  
"I'll never tell you," Brennan breathes.  
  
"I wanted your eyes to be open for this…do you remember where you are? This was your favorite game…"  
  
Brennan realizes that he is back at the compound in one of the 'training' rooms. He is strapped to a platform and, as in the past, he is slowly being lowered into a pool of water. As he is submerged, Brennan can no longer contain his panic. He is drowning.  
  
"I will break you, Brennan Mulwray, and you will tell me where your brother is…" Rorie screams through the buffer of the water.  
  
Brennan struggles against the restraints, the water turning crimson with his blood. He cannot breathe.  
  
"Shalimar, he's dying, I have to do something," Adam says, revealing a long syringe.  
  
"Adam, wait, isn't that a little drastic?" Shalimar protests. Adam slides the needle into Brennan's neck.  
  
Brennan's eyes open instantly as Adam depresses the plunger. He gasps for air, desperately.  
  
"Brennan? You okay? Brennan, look at me!" Shalimar says, worried and protective.  
  
Brennan puts a hand on Shalimar's, still gasping for breath. "I'm okay and I know who's after Britt."  
  
TBC 


	4. Four

"Sweet smell of sunshine  
  
I remember sometimes"  
  
-NIN  
  
"Rorie Charlotte. She was one of the head researchers at the compound where Britt and I were held. She says she didn't die in the fire, that she's been in a coma. She also said that she's restored all the files that we destroyed." Brennan looks at the floor. "She's coming after him."  
  
"What else can you tell me about her?" Adam questions.  
  
"She's evil. She's more evil than anyone I've ever met. She enjoys other people's pain. She's a sadist…" Brennan steps back from where Adam is repairing his arm.  
  
"Brennan?" Shalimar calls.  
  
He turns away, a sharp pain blinding him. It dissipates and he turns back to his friends.  
  
"Brennan…your eyes…" Emma gasps.  
  
"What about them?" Brennan asks.  
  
"They're changing colors," Jesse states, amazed. Brennan's brown eyes are slowing melting from blue to green and then to gray.  
  
Another pain strikes him and he grabs his head in pain. Emma is closest to him and takes his arm to steady him. She feels the stab of pain and is thrown away from him into Jesse.  
  
"Brennan…Brennan, are you there?" A familiar voice whispers in his head.  
  
"Dammit…" Brennan says aloud, pain invading his entire being. "Stop…make it stop…I can't take anymore…"  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you, Brennan…Can you hear me?"  
  
Brennan breathes heavily and his energy starts to spontaneously protect him from the others by forming a force field around his crumpling body. He kneels in the floor of the lab, pain shooting through his body.  
  
"Whatever you're doing is killing me…" Brennan says.  
  
"Brennan, I'm reopening the channel between us…it's Britt…your brother…and someone is looking for us…"  
  
Brennan feels consciousness leaving him as he replies to his brother silently. "I know, Britt, its Rorie and you just opened a door straight to you…"  
  
As soon as Brennan is unconscious, the energy surrounding him disappears back into his body. Adam and the others lift him onto a bed and Adam immediately begins running tests on him.  
  
"This is impossible…this is just…impossible," Adam mumbles aloud, looking at the computer screen.  
  
"What is it?" Jesse asks, leaving the girls at Brennan's bedside to see what Adam is alarmed about.  
  
"Brennan's mutation…I have stabilized all of your mutations but Brennan's has suddenly been reactivated and…its like nothing I've ever seen before…no wonder he collapsed…" Adam stares at the statistics in awe.  
  
"He's mutating again? Adam, how is that possible?" Jesse questions.  
  
"I have no idea. Maybe, that last attack wasn't Rorie Charlotte…maybe that was his brother and when he reopened the telepathic channel, it triggered the mutations…" Adam looks at Brennan, realization dawning on his face. "All this time, Brennan thought his brother had the combination of powers but he's had them, too. Somehow when his brother severed the telepathic connection, he stopped Brennan's powers from developing and if what I'm thinking is correct, when the channel was reopened, all the dormant powers must have reemerged."  
  
"Adam…he's waking up," Shalimar calls 


	5. Five

--Note to Readers—I'm sorry again about the present tense, but I don't want to change it mid-story so I hope you guys will stick with me until its finished.  Once its done I PROMISE to go back and change the tenses but please bear with me, if I had known that my habit of writing in present tense would be so hard to deal with I never would have started.  (I also write all my stories on paper without capitalization so you guys should be glad I'm not transferring that habit to print J)  Thanks again for all the great reviews!!  Hopefully I'll be done soon!!

_"And there's a memory of a window   
looking through I see you   
searching for something I could never give you   
and there's someone who understands   
you more than I do…"_

_            -Third Eye Blind_

  
            "Brennan?  How do you feel?"  Emma asks.

            "Like I'm dying…like I'm burning from the inside out…" Brennan says, his voice hoarse.

            "Brennan, did your brother try to contact you?"  Adam questions.

            "I think so…yeah…what the hell is going on?  Why do I feel like I'm about to explode?"  Brennan asks, his eyes fluorescent blue.

            "You said your brother had a combination of powers as a child but that you never developed them…well, when your brother reopened the connection between you, it triggered your mutations…you are exhibiting signs of so many different powers that I can't track them all," Adam explains.

            "Well, can you stabilize me so I can get out of here?  I have to get to Britt before Rorie…" Brennan's eyes flicker and become a dark green.

            "Brennan, its not safe for you to be away from the lab, the stress to your system is almost out of my control as it is.  I've never seen anything like this and I don't know what to expect," Adam replies honestly.

            "Why can't we bring Britt to you?  Then you'll both be safe here at Sanctuary.  I mean, this Rorie chick obviously doesn't know where you are in reality, which is why she's coming at you through your dreams.  We bring Britt here and both of you will be safe," Shalimar suggests.

            "Britt won't come with you.  He'll kill you as soon as you mention my name.  I have to go," Brennan replies, quietly.

            Adam is pensive.  

            "I should be fine as long as I don't use my powers, right Adam?"  Brennan asks.  

            "Not exactly…" Adam replies.

            "What do you mean, not exactly?"  Brennan asks, sitting up.

            "Your body is in the process of…restructuring.  It has to compensate for all your new powers and its still in the very early stages.  I have no idea what your body is going to do, but I don't want to risk you going out and being too far away from the lab," Adam replies.  "You could lose control at any time, Brennan."

            "I have to make sure Britt is safe.  I have to get to him," Brennan replies.

            "You're sure he wouldn't come with one of the others," Adam clarifies.

            "Positive," Brennan answers, holding his head.  His eyes are dark grey when he looks up again.

            "Well then I think we're all taking a trip.  Jesse, power up the Helix.  Shalimar and Emma, I need you to gather up as much medical equipment as you can for the Helix.  If Brennan's mutations start to get out of control, hopefully I'll be able to stabilize him using the Helix's power supply.  Go, guys, while I talk to Brennan," Adam orders.  

            "Thank you, Adam, for helping me after all I've done," Brennan says, quietly.

            "All you've done?  You mean the compound…Brennan, we all make mistakes…" Adam starts.

            "I know, Adam…it took me a while to get over what happened there.  After Britt and I went our separate ways, I had a lot of pent up issues and I ended up in the hospital for a while, catatonic from what the doctors said was post-traumatic stress."  Brennan sighs.  "I thought I should tell you that now before we take this trip.  I haven't seen Britt in a long time and I don't exactly feel like myself right now."

            Adam nods.  "Okay, Brennan.  That explains a lot.  You have to relax, though, and let us take care of you.  You're not alone like you were before.  We're a team and we will take care of you and your brother.  Now.  I need you to let me know anytime you feel anything strange.  I don't care how little you think it is, I want to know.  We may have only a few seconds of warning before you lose control.  Can you do that?"

            Brennan nods.  "Sure."

            "Adam?  We're ready," Jesse says, entering silently.  "The girls want to know how far we'll be going."

            "Not far," Brennan replies.  "Not far at all."

Tbc


	6. Six

----Me again-hope everyone is enjoying the story so far; I hoped I'd be finished by now but my muse is sponsored my Satan who refuses to let this story come to a close.  After today, it will be a while before I get to post again and I'm sorry we haven't met Britt yet.  I'm still deciding on him and his baggage so I hope you guys will bear with me, the readers have been great so far.  If anyone wants to contact me about possibilities of what Britt has been up to all these years, feel free; I think my email is up on here somewhere.  Anyway, sorry this chapter sux, it would be better if I wasn't depressed about last night's Buffy the Vampire Slayer…sigh…hope you enjoy this next part.---brandywine421

"Each little mystery is safe in your heart  
you've got to wonder, is moving on the best that you can do?"  
            -Seven Mary Three

            Brennan didn't tell the others where they were headed; he simply entered the coordinates in the Helix's computer and settled into a passenger seat.  If he hadn't felt so strange, he would have insisted on flying it himself, but he left that to Jesse this time.  He is exhausted, but too stressed to fall asleep and let Rorie in his head again.  

            "Adam, there's something I've been meaning to ask you.  Rorie wasn't a new mutant so how is she able to get into my head?"  Brennan asks, breaking the silence.  

            "Well, she could be using a psionic as a pathway to you, which would explain why she doesn't disappear as soon as you wake up.  If she was entering your mind using technology, the connection would be broken as soon as you woke up," Adam replies.

            "Or it could be someone else portraying themselves as Rorie," Emma offers.

            "Then it has to be someone that was in the compound.  Someone that knows how much I hated Rorie…" Brennan thinks aloud.  

            "Bren, the Helix says we're nearing our destination.  You want to take a look?"  Jesse announces.

            "Sure.  I need to send him the signal to meet me," Brennan says.

            "What's the signal?"  Shalimar questions.

            "An email from a certain account to another account.  It's indirect and untraceable.  He'll get the signal and will meet me at the location we agreed upon."

            "You sure the location is still standing after 8 years?" Emma asks, smiling slightly.

            "You'll see.  We did consider that at the time," Brennan replies.  He turns to the console and finishes sending his message.  He realizes that his hands are shaking as he types.  "Okay.  All done."

            "Shalimar, I want you to go down with Brennan.  Jesse, Emma and I will wait in the Helix until you guys are ready to bring Britt in.  Brennan, remember what I said.  If anything feels strange…"             Adam begins.

            "Something feels strange, Adam…I can't stop shaking and I'm getting chills all of a sudden…can you check me out real quick?"  Brennan interrupts, ignoring the concerned glances of his teammates.  

            Adam takes Brennan into the rear of the plane and checks his vitals.  "You're running a fever, Brennan and your DNA is still very unstable."

            "Can you stabilize me?  Damn, Adam, as soon as we get Britt back to Sanctuary, I'll let you poke me and scan me all you want but…" Brennan starts.

            "I know.  Let me try something…" Adam says, turning and lowering his eyes to a box of chemicals.  When he turns back holding a syringe, Brennan is shivering more violently.  "This should stall the fever for a few hours, but I can't help with the chills.  It should also help you hold control of the mutations for a little longer."  Adam meets Brennan's eyes.  "You'll feel like hell once it wears off, kid."

            "I feel like hell now.  Just do it," Brennan replies.  Adam sighs as he slides the needle into Brennan's vein.  

            "You okay?"  Adam questions when Brennan doesn't speak.

            "Yeah, but that shit burns like hell…I can feel it running through me…" Brennan says, trembling.

            "That'll pass.  Now get up front and keep the others from worrying themselves to death about you," Adam replies.  

            Brennan nods.  He shivers slightly as he picks his black duster from a stack of spare clothes in the back and pulls it on.  He silently rejoins his teammates, glancing at the computer console in front of Jesse.  

            "Shalimar, I think it's a good time to get started.  You ready?"  Brennan asks.   

            "Always.  Let's go," Shalimar replies.  

            "Be careful, guys." Jesse adds.  

            "We'll be back before you can miss us," Brennan says before dropping from the Helix to the ground.  Shalimar follows him.  

            "Where are we?"  Shalimar asks, glancing around at the many trees surrounding her.

            "A park.  A veteran's memorial park.  Britt and I figured that no one would risk destroying it for office space or anything," Brennan replies.  

            "So who are we looking for?  What does your brother look like?"  Shalimar questions.

            "He looks like me, I guess.  Haven't really seen him in a while.  Let's split up.  Don't approach him if you spot him, Shal, I mean it," Brennan warns.  

            Shalimar nods, glancing at him.  She realizes that he is paler than when he was on the Helix.  "Bren, you okay?"

            "Yeah…whatever Adam gave me to help the fever is just making me a little hazy…I'm fine.  I promise, Shalimar," Brennan reassures, trying to get the worried expression off her face.

            "Well, stay close regardless," She replies before bounding off to search.

            Brennan starts to walk around the park, watching people walk their dogs and jog.  He doesn't see anyone that looks like his brother.

            "Brennan," Shalimar calls over the comlink in his ring.  

            "Yeah, Shal?"  

            "I think I see your brother."

tbc 


	7. Seven

_"This is where I say I've had enough   
and no one should ever feel the way that I feel now.   
A walking open wound,   
a trophy display of bruises   
and I don't believe that I'm getting any better."  
            -Dashboard Confessional_

            "Okay, Shalimar, I'm here…who did you spot?"  Brennan asks, joining Shalimar beside a fountain.

            "See that blond guy over there with the leather jacket?  Wait until he turns this way…" Shalimar nods toward a nearby water fountain.

            "That's him, Shalimar.  Thanks.  I'll be right back," Brennan says, steeling himself with a deep breath.

            "Be careful.  I'll be right here if you need me."

            Brennan gives Shalimar's arm a grateful squeeze and approaches the blond man that matches his size and build.  Once he is within speaking distance, the man turns.  Brennan manages not to react to seeing himself as a blond.  He doesn't speak to his brother; instead he pushes past him and leans in to get a drink from the water fountain.

            Brennan locks eyes with his brother as he lifts his head from the fountain.  

            "You okay, kid?"  Brennan asks, quietly.

            "No.  I haven't been okay for about 8 years," His brother replies.  

            Brennan smiles slightly.  "Well, I'm sorry to hear that."  Britt embraces Brennan, hugging him tightly.

            "I need you to come with me, Britt.  Right now," Brennan says, quietly in his brother's ear.

            "It's that bad?" Britt questions.  "Bren, your eyes are…"

            "I know.  When you contacted me before, it triggered something and my system is all fucked up.  Rorie has been coming to me in my sleep and asking about you," Brennan says, walking with Britt towards Shalimar.

            "No shit.  Where are we going to go?"  Britt asks.

            "Sanctuary.  I have friends.  Do you still trust me, Britt?"  Brennan questions.

            "Of course.  Sanctuary as in Mutant X?" Britt asks, lowering his voice.

            "Yeah, Britt…" Brennan starts, but a wave of vertigo takes his voice.  Shalimar appears from the background and catches him.

            "Brennan, take it easy…hi, I'm Shalimar," She says, supporting Brennan with her arm around his waist.

            "A friend, Britt…I'm okay, Shal, just a little dizzy…" Brennan says as Britt and Shalimar both look at him with concern.

            "We need to get you to Adam, pronto, Brennan," Shalimar replies, concerned.

            Britt glances around, nervously.  "Something's watching us," He says.

            Jesse and Emma step out of the bushes.  "We're watching you.  You didn't check in when you were supposed to, guys…is Brennan okay?" Emma asks, suddenly noticing his pale skin.

            "I'm okay for the moment, but I don't think I'm going to last much longer.  Britt…" Brennan turns to his brother, his eyes an unnerving silver.

            "I'm ready, Brennan, if Rorie's after me then I know I won't be safe unless I'm with you.  Let's go," Britt answers before Brennan can finish.

            "Jesse, take Britt first.  Emma and I will follow you with Brennan…" Shalimar instructs.  She turns away for a moment and holds her ring to her mouth.  "Adam?"

            "I'm here, Shalimar," He answers immediately.

            "Brennan's not looking so hot.  Jesse's coming up with his brother," She adds.

            "Okay, Shalimar.  I'm waiting."

            Shalimar nods to Emma and they each take one of Brennan's arms.

            "I'm not an invalid," He mutters, his eyelids drooping.

            "Let us have our fun, Brennan," Emma replies.

            "Yeah, don't worry, I'm going to kick your ass for making me worry once you get back up to speed," Shalimar adds.

            "Okay…beam me up, ladies," Brennan says, his voice slurring.

            "You just stay awake, Bren, okay?  No unconsciousness until we get home, okay?"  Emma urges as they jump into the Helix's tractor beam.  

******NOTE TO READERS:  I have no idea how the team gets in and out of the Helix, I always see them sort of fall from the sky, so I'm embellishing a little and theorizing that there is some sort of tractor beam that helps them get in and out of the magical plane-thing.  If you have a better solution or know their secret, please let me know and I will correct the thought.  Back to the story. ************

            "Brennan?" Emma says, once they are inside the Helix.

            "I'm still here…Adam, something's wrong…" He says, his voice weak and slurred.  His eyes are a dull gray with flecks of black now.

            Shalimar and Emma support him to the back of the plane to the small bed Adam has set up.  Britt follows them.

            "What's wrong with my brother?"  Britt demands.

            "His body is under tremendous stress right now.  Rorie has been attacking him through his dreams…" Adam starts.

            "Attacking him how?"  Britt interrupts, his blue eyes full of concern.

            "She broke some of his ribs…sliced his arm…made him think he was drowning," Shalimar answers.

            "Dammit…" Britt curses.  

            "And when you reopened the telepathic channel, well, it catalyzed his system and a lot of new mutations started to occur," Adam summarizes.

            "Adam…let go of me…" Brennan says, lying on the bed.  His eyes are half-closed and slightly rolled back in his head.  Adam releases his grip on Brennan's wrist and instantly, a jolt of electricity surges through Brennan.

            "Shit, Shalimar, come help me with the Helix!"  Jesse calls from the cockpit as the energy surge affects the plane's equipment.  She hurries out of the room.

            Brennan convulses with electricity for several minutes before gasping for breath and becoming still.  "Dammit…"

            "Brennan?"  Britt calls from Adam's side.

            "It's okay, Britt, I promise, I'm just a little out of it…" Brennan reassures.  He looks to Adam, his eyes silver.  "Adam…"

            "I'm right here," Adam says, returning his attention to Brennan's thready pulse, which is now stable.

            "His body is trying to compensate for the trauma…the energy is regulating his heartbeat," Britt says.

            "How do you know?"  Adam asks.

            "Because it happened before…in the compound when Rorie took her torture too far," Britt replies.

            "Her torture?"  Emma asks.

            "Britt…" Brennan says, trying to stop his brother's words.

            "She would strap Brennan to a platform and submerge him in water until he either passed out or agreed to assist her willingly.  Sometimes, she would keep him under too long and when she would bring him out, the energy inside him would restart his heart," Britt says.

            Brennan's body suddenly goes limp as he lapses into unconsciousness.

            "Dammit…if she goes after Brennan now, his system may not be able to handle it…" Adam curses.

            Britt looks at Adam in alarm.  "I'll have to go in after him, try to bring him out."

            "No," Emma says.  "Brennan would never forgive us if we let you go in there.  The whole reason we're here is to protect you.  If you go into his mind, Rorie will have you both."

Tbc again


	8. Eight

_"There's a power when you're near me…"_

_            --Heather Nova_

            "It seems like he genuinely cares about Brennan," Jesse says to Shalimar, watching Britt sit by his brother behind the window in the lab back at Sanctuary.  Emma is also in the other room staring at a computer screen full of digits and jumpy lines.

            "You were thinking otherwise?"  Shalimar asks, raising an eyebrow.

            Jesse shrugs.  "I don't know.  The whole blowing up of the compound full of people thing has me floored.  It just doesn't seem like something Brennan would ever consider.  I mean, I don't know him intimately well or anything, but he's a pretty laid-back peaceful kind of guy.  Always reading poetry and listening to classical music."

            Shalimar looks at Britt.  "I hadn't thought of that.  Britt seems okay to me, just a little strange.  He's supposed to be a genius with all these powers but it's like he's clinging to Brennan.  And Brennan's acting almost parental about him."

            "You shouldn't talk about our guest, guys," Adam says, startling them both.  "I know you both trust Brennan so you should trust his judgment."

            "Come on, Adam, tell us the truth.  Do you believe that Brennan was an eager participant in the destruction of that compound?"  Jesse asks, his voice low.

            Adam is silent for several moments.  "I think I know all of you pretty well as the people you are today.  I think that Brennan was a very confused and traumatized 13-year-old boy that did what he thought he had to in order to survive.  I think that whatever he did back then helped to make him the man that he is today.  I used to work for Genomex and you don't hold that against me."

            "Adam?  Brennan's readings are getting worse…I can't get any kind of psionic feelings from him either…" She lowers her voice.  "Britt is starting to panic."  

            Adam follows Emma into the lab.

            "Britt?  How's he doing?"  Adam asks, going to the computer.

            "He's getting paler and his body is shaking…but he's not waking up…did I do this to him?"  Britt asks, his voice sounding eerily like Brennan's.

            "I think it would have happened eventually.  His body is exhausted and with the new mutations, it's taking its toll," Adam replies.  Something on the screen startles him.

            "What is it?"  Emma asks, almost whispering to avoid alarming Britt.

             Adam's face becomes stone.  "I need a few minutes alone with Brennan.  I need to go over some readings more closely."

            "Adam…" Emma protests, sensing Britt's dangerous concern.

            "If it were either one of you, I wouldn't let anyone be in the room while I was examining you," Adam says, reassuring Brennan with a glance.

            "Come on, Britt, I'll show you where you'll be staying," Emma offers.

            Britt follows Emma from the lab.

            Adam goes to Brennan's bedside and slides a needle into his arm, drawing a vial of blood.  Brennan is still, his breathing too slight to see, the only sign of life is the steady beeping from the machine on his other side.  When he pulls the needle from his arm, he realizes that Brennan's eyes are open.

            "Brennan?"  Adam asks.   

            "Yeah?"  Brennan replies, his eyes on the vial of blood.

            "How do you feel?"  Adam asks, confused because his readings haven't changed with his sudden consciousness.

            "I don't know.  I don't think you can fix me this time."  Brennan's eyes are icy blue and show no emotion.  

            "Oh ye of little faith, Brennan…" Adam attempts to encourage him.

            "Don't lie to me, Adam…you don't know what's happening to me, do you?"  Brennan questions.  

            "Brennan, I will figure it out," Adam resolves.  

            "Take care of my brother, Adam.  He's the most important," Brennan says, looking away.

            "Not to me.  Brennan…you're like a son to me…and you are one of the best men I have ever met.  I'm not giving up until I figure this out.  I won't let you give up either.  Okay?"  Adam asks.

            Brennan nods.  "How do I fight Rorie?  How can I keep what happens in my head from happening to my body?"

            Adam is quiet as his mind tries to find a solution.  

            "I was thinking that maybe Rorie isn't actually doing anything to me except using my own powers against me.  She's convincing my body that these things are happening so when she shocks me, my body shocks me…if I'm mutation like Britt, then I'm going to have psionic and telekinetic powers…" Brennan says, defeated.  "But since she comes to me in my dreams…I really have no control of what happens because it's not me, it's my subconscious."

            "Brennan, I know you can beat her.  Britt's safe, no one is going to find him here…" Adam begins.

            "But you don't know how I can keep Rorie from killing me.  Damn, Adam…" Brennan sighs.

            "I won't let you down, Bren, I will figure out a way…" Adam starts.

            "Just take care of my brother, Adam…" Brennan says, his voice wavering as a tremor runs through him.  

            "Brennan, tell me what you feel.  Are you cold?  Hot?  You're running a fever but…" Adam switches into doctor mode in order to keep his composure.

            "Numb with stabbing pains…bright spots in my vision…nausea and dizziness...I feel like there's acid in my veins…I feel like hell, Adam.  I really don't feel like going to sleep and battling Rorie…if it is Rorie…" Brennan's eyes lose focus for a moment and his eyelids droop.

            "Brennan…hang on so I can get Britt, he's worried sick," Adam urges, eager to give Brennan a reason to stay awake.

            "I don't want him to see me like this, Adam…I hate to ask you this, but can you give me something to make the pain stop?  This is worse than I've ever had to go through…" Brennan says, pain flashing in his fading blue eyes.

            Adam hesitates.  "Brennan, I can give you something but it will make it harder for you to wake up if Rorie comes after you."

            "Never mind…I have to figure out…" Brennan starts.

            "You need to relax, Brennan, okay?  Relax…" Adam says.

            "He's awake?"  Britt's voice carries through the hallway into the lab.  He enters, followed by Emma.

            "Hey, kid…Emma showing you around?"  Brennan asks, as Britt comes to his side.

            "Yeah.  Did I mention how great it is to see you?"  Britt says, relief on his face.

            "No, but I know…sorry I'm so fucked up right now…" Brennan replies.  "You been taking care of yourself?"  

            "Barely, but yeah…Brennan?"  Britt asks, seeing Brennan's eyes shift from blue to silver in a flash.

            "Yeah…Britt, don't do anything stupid, okay?  Adam is going to take care of everything…" Brennan urges.

            Britt glances at Adam and returns his eyes to Brennan.  "You trust him that much?"

            "I trust him more than I trust myself.  Listen to him…" Brennan's voice is lost as he grits his teeth to prevent a cry of pain.

            "What's wrong?"  Britt asks, alarmed.

            "Nothing, Britt…I think I need to sleep for a little longer…give Adam a chance to figure this out…" Brennan says, his voice weak and his eyelids drooping.

            "Okay, Bren…I'll be here when you wake up…" Britt says.  Once Brennan's eyes are closed, he turns to Adam.

            Adam's eyes are already on Britt.  "Britt, can I get a blood sample from you to compare…" He starts.

            "Of course.  And I have something else that may be of use to you," Britt says.

            Adam looks at him with interest.

            "I'm sorry I didn't give it to you earlier, but I'm still a little cautious…" Britt apologizes.

            "It's okay, it's understandable.  What is it?"  Adam asks.

            Britt pulls a small disk from his pocket.  "These are the files we destroyed.  Brennan doesn't know I saved them because this disk could destroy everything.  It's complete.  It has a list of all the children in the compound, all the researchers and all the…experimentation and data."  He holds it out to Adam.  "It might help you figure out where Rorie is."

            Adam nods.  "It might also hold a clue to helping Brennan."  Adam doesn't take the disk from him.  

            "You want it?"  Britt asks.

            "No, I want you to be the one to handle it.  Jesse and the others will help you set up at a computer and take them through it.  You know the material best so you should lead the research.  I need to focus on stabilizing Brennan right now.  His health is most important," Adam says.  "Can you handle that?"

            Britt is surprised.  "Of course."

            "I'm trusting you because Brennan trusts you.  Don't let him down, Britt," Adam says, quietly.  


	9. Nine

_'m kind of numb_

_It's all distorted_

_You left me here with _

_This damage that you caused…"_

_            --Staind_

            "So, Britt.  What have you been up to the last few years?" Jesse asks, logging into a spare computer.  Britt had refused to open the disk on a computer that was hooked up the net or any other computer.  

            "I'm a police officer.  I didn't know what else to be after…after what I'm about to show you."  Britt starts to click the keyboard furiously and the hologram screen opens up beside them and displays a jumble of codes.

            "You really are a genius…this is some of the most sophisticated code I've ever seen…" Jesse admires.  Shalimar glances at Emma.

            "I don't understand it either, Shal," Emma grins.

            Britt clicks some more keys and a building appears.  "This is some video from the compound.  I don't know who it was designed for, I guess the investors."  

            "That's the compound?"  Emma asks, as the clip moves forward, through the steel doors into the building.  

            "Yup," Britt replies.  

            The screen shows into different parts of the building.  In one frame, a white room is displayed with a small child lying sedated on a gurney.  He is surrounded by masked 'doctors'.  

            "That's bullshit.  The rooms were dirty gray…most of them were bloodstained…and we were never sedated for anything…" Britt says, quietly.

            The video continues, showing a clean, normal research facility.  At the end, happy children are shown, reunited with their nuclear families.

            "Okay.  That's the edited version.  Now I'm going to show you some of the security video with what…what really went on."  Britt glances at the others before he starts the clip.  "You guys know Brennan pretty well?"

            "He's like a brother to us," Emma replies.  Shalimar pokes her and gives her a look.

            "He is my brother.  But we've never talked about what happened in that place," Britt says quietly.  "We were in there together, but…this is the kind of stuff nightmares have nightmares about."

            "You don't want us to tell Brennan what we're going to see," Emma says.

            Britt nods slightly.  He sighs.  "This is some heavy shit."  He clicks some keys and the video starts.  

            Emma gasps as a child is shown, restrained on a bed in a dingy room.  The floors are brown with aged blood and the child's eyes are wide with fear.  As the clip plays, a man wearing scrubs enters with a long syringe.  

            "What is he doing?"  Jesse asks.

            "I don't know.  But it hurt like hell," Britt replies.  The child onscreen begins to scream.

            Britt's eyes are not on the screen; he is looking in the direction of the lab.  "Brennan would volunteer…so the people wouldn't hurt me or the others…" Britt says quietly.  "By the time we escaped, he couldn't eat, sleep…he could barely function."

            "Is that…" Shalimar gasps, recognizing a young Brennan alongside Britt in a cell.  Britt nods.

            "That was our room…when they still let us stay in the same room," Britt says, without looking.  

            Emma gives her teammates a glance.  "We don't need to see anymore, Britt.  This is too much…" She starts, pausing as the video shows Brennan and Britt restrained in a room.  As they watch, Britt sends pulses of energy at his brother, relentless as the men in white scream at him.  Even when Brennan collapsed, limp in the restraints, Britt continued to shock him.

            Britt switches the video off.  "I'm going to take a break.  Rorie's file is on here as well as a roster of all the kids in the compound."  He walks away, quickly, clearly disturbed from the video.

            "Did you hear what he said about Brennan volunteering?  How could he let Brennan take all that abuse?"  Jesse whispers to the girls.

            "They were kids, Jesse.  They were kids in that hell…shit…" Shalimar replies.  

            "The guilt is coming from him in waves," Emma says.  

            "It should be," Jesse says.

Brennan is surrounded by mist.  

            "Brennan…Brennan, come out and play with your Auntie Rorie…Brennan…" 

            Brennan doesn't know why Rorie cannot find him.  He waits in his mist camouflage, watching her walk around.  She looks straight at him and he flinches, seeing her face.  Her face is visage of burnt flesh.  The mouth she calls for him from is a gaping hole and her hair is missing in clumps.  

             "Brennan…here kitty kitty kitty…" Rorie calls, looking around.  "I know he's here, I'm in his fucking mind…"

            "How exactly are you mind-fucking me, Rorie?  How are you here?"  Brennan asks, the mist dissipating around him.  He barely contains a shiver as she turns her ravaged face toward him.

            "Look at me, Brennan…I wanted you to see what you did to me…what I've become…" 

            "Karma's a bitch, Rorie…you deserved it…" Brennan says, trying to provoke her.  He is tired of letting her win.  He is tired.

            Rorie leaps at him but when she contacts him, electricity surges from Brennan, knocking them both in opposite directions.

            "You fucking bastard!"  She charges him again, before he can get to his feet.  She pounces on his chest and the energy explodes again.

            Brennan wakes up with a jolt.  He sees Shalimar through the lab window, sleeping with her chin up.  He opens his mouth to call for her but his throat is too dry and painful for any sound to escape.  He glances down and sees fire trickling from his fingertips to the bed.  He struggles to get out of the bed before it becomes an inferno.  He falls to the floor with a thump, too shaky to stand.  He sees Shalimar yelling something to him from behind the glass right before the sprinklers come on, soaking him wet.  As the water drenches him, he starts to shiver and electricity starts to build in his hands.

            "Brennan…Brennan, are you okay?"  Adam yells, standing in the doorway.

            "Stand back…" Brennan coughs, unsure of anything but intense pain.  A severe convulsion shakes him and a pulse of energy erupts, knocking Adam to the floor and shattering everything that is glass.

            Brennan sinks back into unconsciousness, the water draining his power.  

            "Back so soon?  What happened out there, Brennan?" Rorie snarls, crouched in wait.

            Brennan sways as Rorie appears in front of him.  Despite being soaked and powerless, his exhaustion fuels his rage.  He pushes her to the ground, his mere size enough to overtake her.  

            "Why are you doing this?" Brennan demands.

            "You and your brother destroyed me…" Rorie spits, struggling.

            "You destroyed yourself," Brennan replies, his hands around her neck.

            "You going to kill me?  You don't have the guts…" Rorie taunts.  

            "You stay away from my brother…" Brennan pants, his vision wavering as his grip tightens.  

            "Brennan, wake up, man!" A voice penetrates into his mind.

            "Punk…" Rorie gasps, as Brennan releases her.  

            "Brennan…Brennan, can you hear me?"  Adam's voice strikes him and he jolts upright with a gasp.  He is still on the floor in the center of the shattered, scorched lab.  

            "Brennan?"  Shalimar and Jesse are beside Adam alongside him.  

            "Yeah?"  He asks.  

            "What the hell is going on?"  Shalimar asks.

            "I almost killed her…I had my hands on her throat…I could have crushed her throat…" Brennan says, his eyes a dark grey, glazed with emotion.

            "It was self defense…" Jesse starts.

            "I'm not a killer…I'm…" Brennan's voice fades away as the memory of the destroyed compound assaults him.  

            "Brennan?  Brennan?"  Shalimar is alarmed by the look on his face.  

            Emma enters, waving Adam to join her in the other room.  

            "What?"  Adam asks, concern lining his face.

            "I was looking through the disk Britt left with us.  It has a medical file on Brennan.  It doesn't match ours at all," Emma begins.  Britt walks in, his hair wet from the shower.

            "What's going on?  Is Brennan okay?"  Britt asks.

            "He's conscious.  Rorie attacked him again," Adam says.  "Wait, Britt," He stops Britt from going into the room where Shal and Jesse are lifting Brennan onto a fresh bed.

            "Britt, can you fill us in on some of Brennan's med files?"  Emma asks.

            "Like what?" Britt asks, his gaze never leaving his brother's body.

            "When you guys escaped from the compound and…blew it all to hell…what did that do to Brennan?" Emma asks.

            Britt hesitates.  

            "Well?"  Adam urges.

            "He lost it.  He lapsed into catatonia for a while, wouldn't talk, wouldn't eat…I finally had to take him to the hospital for dehydration.  After that, he seemed to be okay, but he couldn't stop shaking, his mental stability was shot.  He would have flashbacks and nightmares…I had to institutionalize him for a few months…" Britt explains.

            "You put him in an institution?"  Emma gasps.       

            Britt's eyes are clouded.  "I found him in the bathroom with shards of the mirror, slashing his wrists…he couldn't handle what we had done…"

            "After the institution, how was he?"  Adam asks, giving Emma a warning glare.

            "Stable.  He was fine.  He recovered fully…" Britt says, watching Brennan through the shattered window.

            "Adam, I was thinking…what if Rorie is a manifestation of Brennan's mind?  What if all the pent-up stuff in his head is breaking free?  I mean, Rorie Charlotte is not a psionic, there's no way she could be hurting him like this…" Emma says aloud.

            "Something is happening to Brennan…I just hope he's not losing his sanity…" Adam says, watching Britt go to the bedside.


	10. Ten

"…And I will never need what you gave me   
And never need you to save me   
And never feel like this life is over…"

            -Limp Bizkit

            Adam follows Britt into the lab.  

            "How you feeling?"  Britt asks.

            "I'm not going crazy," Brennan states flatly.  "I heard what you guys were talking about.  I'm not going crazy."

            "How'd you here that?"  Jesse asks.

            Brennan shrugs weakly.  "I did."

            "You're shaking again, Brennan," Shalimar remarks, worried about upsetting him.  "You want a blanket?"

            "I want this to stop."  Brennan's eyes are locked intensely with Britt's.  Brennan's eyes shift colors rapidly, finally settling on an icy blue.  

            "No fucking way, Brennan!  No fucking way," Britt says, suddenly, breaking from the stare.

            Emma gasps.  "Brennan?  You guys…"

            "Telepathy," Adam interrupts, completing her thought.

            Brennan is still focused on his brother.  "Fuck you," he says aloud, to Britt's turned back.

            "Can we get in on this conversation?"  Shalimar asks, confused.

            "Look at me, Britt, look me in the face and tell me I'm wrong," Brennan says, his voice low.  Britt turns around slowly.  

            "You're wrong," Britt says, meeting Brennan's eyes.

            Brennan shakes his head, disbelief appearing on his face.  "You fucking bastard…you're lying to my face…you're lying to me…"

            "Brennan, it's not like that…Brennan…" Britt starts toward his brother's side.

            "Stay back, Britt…don't make me hurt you…" Brennan says, sitting up, shakily.

            "What the fuck is going on?"  Jesse demands, grabbing Britt's arm.

            "Why would you do this to me, Britt?  What the fuck were you thinking?"  Brennan asks, his voice growing hoarse.

            "I had no choice…I had no choice, Brennan…she has my daughter…" Britt replies, emotion on his face.

            "Whoa, whoa!"  Adam yells.  "You know who's doing this?  Britt?"  

            Brennan has closed his eyes and is shaking his head.  Electricity starts to trace the veins in his skin, crackling dangerously.  

            "Brennan, I never thought she'd…" Britt starts, trying to free himself from Jesse's grasp.  

            "Can you leave, now?"  Brennan says, his voice a threat.

            "Brennan…" Britt pleads, but he is cut off as Brennan raises his hand and Britt is shoved against the wall, his feet dangling.

            "Go.  Now."  Brennan's voice is shaking.  

            "Jesse, go with him.  Hold onto him until we figure out what's going on," Adam says.  "Brennan?"

            "You're going to have to do something…I feel like I'm about…to explode…my powers are building…" Brennan opens his eyes and for the first time in hours, his eyes are his native brown.  Pain lines his face.  

            "Brennan, what about Britt?"  Emma urges.

            Brennan covers his eyes with a trembling hand.  "Chelsea…her name was Chelsea…she was a kid in the compound…a feral taken from her family…she was mean as hell…she escaped a few days before Britt and I…" Britt's voice starts to slur as his powers overwhelm him.  He grips the bed tightly as a wave of pain washes over him.

            "Brennan?"  Emma calls, reaching for his hand.

            "Don't touch me…I might hurt you…" Brennan warns, recovering and pulling his hand away.

            "Who the fuck is Chelsea?"  Shalimar asks.

            "Yeah…I Britt's mind I saw what happened…Chelsea is really pissed at us…"  Brennan's eyelids start to droop as his power surges again and electricity starts to crackle at his fingertips.  

            Emma takes Brennan's face in her hands. "Brennan, show me and you can rest…"

            Brennan nods.  "Let go when it starts to hurt you…I don't think I can control it…" Before Adam or Shalimar can stop them, a blue energy starts to pass between them.

            Emma gasps as the blue energy fills her mind with Brennan's memories.  Brennan slowly goes limp and when Emma lets go, he starts to convulse.

            After several minutes of convulsing, a surge of electricity consumes him and he lies limp on the bed with a rhythmic heartbeat.

            "Adam!  You have to come in here!" Jesse yells from the other room.   

            "I'll go too.  Shal, stay with him," Emma says, looking at Brennan with concern.  

            "If anything weird happens, try your damnedest to wake him up," Adam advises.  "I'll leave my comlink on so I can hear you if you call."

            "Sure, Adam," Shalimar nods.

            "ADAM!" Jesse yells.

            "Do you know what's going on?"  Adam asks Emma as they start toward Jesse.

            "I know what Brennan thinks is going on, but I don't want to believe it," She replies.

            Emma walks up to Britt and faces him.  "Is Brennan right?  You gave Chelsea the key to his mind to save your own ass?"

            Britt's eyes reflect understanding.  "Psionic…he showed you…Dammit…"

            "Britt says that this lady named Chelsea is settling some old score with him.  She has the power to soak up the powers of whoever's mind she can get into.  He says she kidnapped his daughter in exchange for access to his power," Jesse explains.  

            "Instead of Britt giving her access to his mind, she gave him a one-way pass into Brennan's," Emma says, staring at Britt.  "But he's lying.  He doesn't have a daughter."

            "Bullshit…why else would I do it?"  Britt denies.

            "Because you don't want your reputation as a super-cop tarnished by Chelsea revealing your new mutant abilities," Emma replies.  

            Britt is silent.

            "Brennan was right.  You sold him out to save your own ass…" Emma shakes her head.  

            "Adam, you better come in here…" Shalimar says over the comlink.


	11. Eleven

_"If you could step  
into my head, tell  
me would you still know me…"_

_            -Poe_

            "Back for more?  Think you can do it this time?  Think you got the guts to kill me?" Rorie's voice echoes in his cloudy mind.  

            "I know who you are…Chelsea…what do you want from me?" Brennan asks, disoriented.  He staggers around, the mist swirling.      

            "Britt told you…he betrayed me…he promised me and then he betrayed me…" The voice snarls, sounding closer.

            "Britt didn't tell me…I saw what happened…he lied to me, my twin brother lied to me because…" Brennan starts, cautiously glancing around, looking for the hidden threat.  

            "We had a deal…I wouldn't tell the cops that he's a new mutant, I wouldn't tarnish his rep with the details of his past and he would loan me his powers… bastard…" 

            Brennan finds himself on his back, unable to breathe.  Chelsea is crouched on his chest, claws digging into his chest.  Her hair is fiery red and her eyes are green with her feral glow.  

            "I always wanted to sink my teeth into you…taste your flesh…lick your blood from my nails…you look so delicious…" Chelsea hisses, her claws growing and piercing his chest.  Blood starts to trickle from his wounds.

            "Get off…" Brennan pants, panicking slightly as she lowers her mouth to his shoulder blade.  He realizes that he is paralyzed.

            "I don't need your brother anymore…I can taste your power…" She sinks her teeth into his flesh and he cries out in pain.

            Brennan gathers his strength and suddenly, she is off him.  He is covered in blood, but free of her.

            "Chelsea, I won't let you kill me…"

            She snarls at him with his blood on her lips.  

            Brennan closes his eyes and focuses his power on Chelsea.  She cries out, injured and he opens his eyes in time to see her convulsing with bolts of energy running through her.

            "Make it stop…please…make it stop…" Chelsea cries.  

            Brennan's body is numb as the electricity he is directing into Chelsea drains his power.

            "Get out of here, Chelsea…and I'll let you live…" Brennan pants, suddenly frightened as his vision starts to go dark.

            "Anything…I'm sorry…make it stop…please…" Chelsea begs, blood running from her mouth and ears as the electricity dances through her body.

            Brennan exhales and the energy slowly dissipates from her body.  She lies limp, gasping.

            "Get out of my head, Chelsea…" Brennan orders, summoning all his strength and focusing on Chelsea.  He directs everything he has at her and she screams, holding her head until she disappears.  


	12. Twelve

"Never said I was innocent…  
I will burn in Hell for the things I have done to you…  
never said I was anything good…" 

            ---everclear

            "Adam?  Look at him…it looks like she…she bit him…" Shalimar says, pushing bandages against Brennan's bleeding neck and chest.  "He was just lying here and he started to bleed."

            Adam and Emma go to Brennan's bedside and help Shalimar.  

            "What about Britt?" Shalimar asks.

            "Jesse's with him.  I put him in containment so he can't use his powers on any of us.  Emma, this could be dangerous, but I want you to see what's going on in there…" Adam sighs, out of options.  "I don't know what else to do…"

            Emma nods.  She takes Brennan's hands and closes her eyes, trying to tap into his dreamscape.  She senses intense pain and mental anguish, but she cannot find Brennan.  She opens her eyes and shakes her head to Adam.  "He's in pain, but I don't feel anyone else in there with him…maybe he won…"

            "There has to be something we can do…" Shalimar says, frustrated.  

            Adam is quiet.  He is clearly lost in thought, staring at his fallen protégée.

            "Adam?"  Emma calls, glancing at Shalimar.

            Adam doesn't reply.

            "Adam, we really don't need this right now, you have to find a way to help him…Adam?"  Shalimar says, her voice rising in panic.  

            Adam snaps out of his slight trance and turns to the computer console.  "Well, if Brennan was strong enough to get whoever the hell is in his head out…then he's going to be pretty exhausted…"

            "What if he didn't?  What if he wasn't strong enough to do that?  That means…he's trapped in there…" Shalimar says, her voice quiet.  Emma realizes that Shalimar's eyes are feral.

            "Shal…Shal, he's fine, he won the battle, and he's going to be fine," Emma says, pulling her friend away.  "You can't help him, Shal, if you freak out," Emma says, sending her friend a calming vision.  

            Adam starts typing something into the computer.  "Shalimar, go relieve Jesse.  Tell him I need him in here."

            Shalimar starts for the door, her eyes never straying from Brennan's prone body. 

            "Shalimar?  Don't hurt Britt…even after all this, he's still Brennan's brother."  Adam says, not looking up.  

            "Okay, Adam," Shalimar replies, exiting.

            "What are you going to do?"  Emma asks, as Adam continues to type.

            "I'm going to find a way to stop his mutations…he's mutating so fast that his body isn't having time to recover and adapt.  I have to figure out a way…" Adam starts to explain.

            "Stasis?"  Jesse asks, coming in.  "You're going to put Brennan into stasis?"

            "No…I haven't even considered that…there is always another way…Jess, I need you to get on that computer over there and tell me everything you see about this Chelsea woman Britt and Brennan are talking about.  If she's real, and if she's nearby, we need to see her…"

            Jesse nods, sitting down and typing furiously on the computer.

            Emma closes her eyes and squeezes Brennan's hand, trying to find him in the haze of his mind.


	13. Thirteen

_"At slow speed we all seem focused;  
in motion we seem wrong;  
in summer we can taste the rain…"_

            -Alien Ant Farm

            "Brennan?  Brennan, answer me!"  Emma calls, lost in a dark swirling fog.  This time, when she made contact with his skin, she was immediately transported into an unlit, frigid place inside Brennan's mind.

            Emma staggers along and feels cold rain start to fall as she steps toward a clearing.  The clearing is dimly lit from somewhere beyond the mist but the light is gray.  She stumbles and feels strong arms catch her around the waist before she falls into a pool of black water.

            "Careful…that water's like quicksand, it drags you under and holds you under…" Brennan's voice says, from behind her.  Emma turns around as soon as he releases her, her feet on steady ground.

            "Brennan, wait…" Emma says, looking for him.  Brennan's tall body is seen limping away from her into the mist.

            Emma pauses, contemplating what to do.  She decides quickly, breaking into a run and leaping onto his back, knocking him to the ground by surprise.

            Brennan coughs and Emma realizes that even in his mind, he is injured.

            "Oh, Bren, I'm so sorry…" She rolls off his back and sits beside him, the fog too thick between him for her to see his face clearly.

            "Em, you shouldn't be in here right now…everything's fucked up…" Brennan says, his voice low.

            "Brennan, you have to snap out of this, we need you to wake up…" Emma pleads, reaching out to him and taking his hands.

            "Emma, I can't right now…you don't understand…" Brennan twists away from her, leaving blood on her hands.

            "Well, explain it to me, Brennan…please…" She pleads.

            "It hurts too much…I can't go through this again…" Brennan says, his voice cracking.  The rain intensifies and Emma realizes that the drops are burning her skin.

            "Can you make it stop?  Emma, I can't make it stop…" Brennan says, curling into a ball with his arms around his knees.  "I have to keep control…but I can't because I can't make it stop…"

            Emma is stunned by Brennan's complete lack of control.  He is shattered.  The mist thickens.

            Emma finds herself back in the lab, standing beside Brennan's unconscious body.  

            "Emma?  Did you see anything?"  Jesse realizes that her eyes are open again.

            "She's not inside his mind anymore…but he's not okay…he's scared…he's…" Emma struggles to find the words to explain Brennan's state.

            "Emma?" Adam calls her name to try and get her to speak.

            "He wanted me to make it stop.  He was begging me to make it stop," She says quietly, only Jesse hearing her words.

            Emma clears her throat with a sad glance to Jesse and turns to Adam.  "It was dark and it's raining in there.  I saw him but before I could…he wasn't in any shape to be holding a conversation.  I've never seen him like that," Emma says, shaken.  "Somehow, I lost contact."  
            "Adam, Britt wants to talk to you.  He says it's about Brennan," Shalimar says over the comlink.  

            "Emma, I want you to try again when you're ready.  Jesse, keep searching for any information you can find about Chelsea.  I'm going to send Shalimar in here to help monitor Brennan."  He sighs deeply before exiting.  

            "Emma, you said he was begging you to make it stop?"  Jesse asks, his eyes dark with concern.

            "He's in pain.  I don't think it's physical pain…" Emma stops, seeing Shalimar's expression as she walks into the conversation.

            "What did you see?  Emma?"  Shalimar demands.

            "He's pretty messed up, Shal," Jesse sums up.

            "Chelsea, or Rorie or whoever, they're gone.  He's just…he's trying to get his head together," Emma says, avoiding her eyes.

            "Do you think…is he going to be okay, Emma?" Shalimar asks, panic flashing on her face.

            Emma doesn't answer.  

***Author's note:  There is another story posted on this website that has a mutant going into Brennan's mind and finding it swirling with mist.  I am not stealing this idea, I SWEAR, I wrote this section last week and didn't read the other story until today.  I think that there is enough difference between the stories and scenes that I shouldn't worry about rewriting this.  The other story is awesome and I am anxiously waiting for the next chapter, but this chapter is reasonably important to the plot of my story and shows the complexity of Brennan's emotional and mental issues so I am leaving it the way it is.***


	14. Fourteen

"I can't shake your pain…"

            -Everclear

            "What is it?" Adam asks, sitting down outside of the containment field that holds Brennan's brother.  

            "I can't find him…" Britt's blue eyes are crazed slightly.  "I can't feel him at all…"

            "You're in containment.  You can't use your powers while you're inside the force field."  Adam replies.  He stares at Britt, his face blank.

            Britt looks at Adam, tears in his eyes.  "You think I don't know how evil I am?  You think I have no morals?  No conscience?"

            Adam is silent.

            Britt crouches on the edge of the invisible wall separating him from Adam.  "Brennan is my twin brother…he has always come through for me…he saved me from that hell in the compound…he gave up his sanity for me…you must think I'm soulless for what I've done…"

            Adam sits quietly, watching Britt.

            "She doesn't have my daughter…she was going to destroy everything that I've worked so hard to build…my career…my family…my life…I couldn't let that happen…Chelsea…she said that no one would get hurt…I figured Brennan…he wouldn't…" Britt's emotion takes his voice.

            "You thought Brennan wouldn't be using his powers so Chelsea could borrow them?  Tell me something, Britt, why did you stunt Brennan's powers?"  Adam speaks for the first time.

            "To save him…the mutations were killing him…" Britt replies, flushed.

            "If you had let his body take care of itself he would have matured just like you.  He would be complete and healthy with the multi-mutations.  Why did you do that to him?"  Adam asks, his face still unreadable.

            Britt turns away, holding his head.  "Brennan…I'm so sorry…"

            "Where is Chelsea?"  Adam asks.

            "Brennan has always been better…in the compound, everyone turned to him for help, they loved him…he was the one who came up with the plan to escape…I was always second-best…he…" Britt says, crying.  "He doesn't deserve all this…"

            "All what?  He doesn't deserve what, Britt?"  Adam asks.

            "This!"  Britt waves his hands around, indicating Sanctuary.  "Mutant X, all this, he doesn't deserve it!  I have all the powers, all the education, but it's Brennan that is here!  It's not fair!"  Britt yells.

            Adam walks out of the room without speaking.  

            "Adam!  Wait!"  Britt yells.

            Jesse meets Adam on the way to the lab.

            "Adam?  What's wrong, what did he say?"  Jesse asks, seeing the expression on his leader's face.  

            "I…did you find Chelsea?"  Adam asks, unable to discuss Britt's outbursts.

            "We found an address.  Adam…" Jesse starts, concerned.

            "Britt…he's Brennan's brother.  If he wasn't Brennan's brother then there are lots of things that I would say…but he's Brennan's brother.  Keep reminding me of that, Jesse," Adam says, quietly.


	15. Fifteen

"…A man out of sync with his own program,  
trying to find some kind of inner link…"

            -KoRn   
  


            "Shalimar, you're pretty close with Brennan, aren't you?"  Emma asks, suddenly, startling the blonde from her concerned staring.  

            "I guess.  He doesn't really open up to anybody, but…we're pretty close.  Why?"  Shalimar asks.

            "I can't find him.  He's lost in there, and I don't know where to look.  It's so dark…" Emma replies.  She turns to Shalimar.  "I can take you inside if you think you can find him."

            "You can take me inside?  Em, what are you talking about?"  Shalimar asks, confused.

            "I don't know, exactly.  I think it happened when Brennan gave me his memories…I can connect your minds.  Come here, I'll show you."  Emma reaches out her hand.  Shalimar takes it in her hand.  

            "Close your eyes," Emma instructs.  

            Shalimar finds herself in a black place.  Her feral eyes adjust so she can see in the lack of light.  Cold water drips on her from above and she can hear screaming.  She starts to run toward the noise and it gets louder, the sound echoing painfully.  She sees a figure and stops near it, the sound too much.

            "Brennan?" She yells, cautiously approaching him.  

            He is crouched with his arms wrapped around his knees and his head leaned over.  

            "Brennan?"  Shalimar sits down beside him.

            He doesn't react, the deafening screams waning.  Shalimar starts to shake him, trying to get his attention.

            "Brennan, look at me…Brennan, come on, snap out of it!"  She yells, shaking him.

            Finally he looks up, the screams getting louder.  "I can't make it stop…it only gets worse…it's better when I'm still…I have to sit still and be quiet…" Brennan says, his eyes glazed.

            "Brennan, it's Shalimar…Brennan?"  Shalimar takes his face in her hands and makes him meet her gaze.

            "Shalimar…Shalimar…" Brennan repeats, the screams growing even louder.

            "Brennan, you can make the noise stop.  Make the noise stop and talk to me.  Brennan." Shalimar says, sternly.

            Brennan shakes his head.  "I can't make it stop…"

            Shalimar squeezes his hands and nods, reassuringly.  "Yes you can, you are stronger than this.  Come on, make it stop."

            Brennan closes his eyes.  His body is shaking violently.  Shalimar tries to give him strength by squeezing his hands, but the screams only get louder.  Brennan pulls away and covers his ears as the noise reaches a crescendo before everything goes quiet.  

            "Bren?  Brennan," Shalimar tries to get him to face her.  She has to pull his arms away from his cowering face.

            "Leave me alone, Shalimar…I can't handle this right now…" Brennan says, pulling away from her.

            "But listen.  It's quiet.  You made it quiet, Brennan."  Shalimar says, not wanting to lose his lucidity.

            Brennan looks up, his eyes disbelieving.  "Yeah…quiet…"

            "You can do this.  You can break out of this," Shalimar reassures.

            Brennan nods to her, his face blank.  "It's clinging to me like glue, Shal…every time I think I'm strong enough to come out of here, it starts to crawl on me…infecting me with its poison…this hurts so bad…"

            "What can I do?  What do you need, Brennan?" Shalimar asks, sensing the pain in his voice.

            Brennan's eyes darken as he focuses on reality.  "Get Britt out of Sanctuary.  Get him the hell away from me, Shal, cause I don't know…I don't know what I might do to him if I see him…"

            Shalimar stops him from going further, seeing him getting upset.  "Shh…we'll make sure he's gone, Brennan, I promise."

            Brennan looks at his hands, trembling.  "It's been a long time since I've lost control like this…I swore that if I ever got this unstable again that I'd let go…give up…" He looks up at her, solemn.  "But I know that it's wrong…that I have to fight it out…right?"

            "Right, Brennan, we need you…are you hearing me?  You cannot give up, okay, 'cause we need you…Brennan…I need you…" Shalimar says, feeling the connection drifting.

.           "Okay, Shal…I'll try…" Brennan whispers as she fades away.

            Shalimar blinks and finds herself back in the lab.  

            "Did you see him?" Emma asks, expectantly.

            "Yeah, he's still pretty messed up, but I think I got him to snap out of it a little," Shalimar replies.

            "What are we going to do about Chelsea?"  Adam asks, walking in with Jesse.  

            "What are we going to do about Britt?"  Shalimar counters, quietly.

            The room is silent.  

            "Adam?"  Emma calls, after the silence is too long.

            "Jesse.  I want you and Shalimar to go check out Chelsea's place.  If she's there, take her to one of the safehouses until I can meet you there.  Emma, you will stay here with Brennan.  I'll take Britt back to where he came from," Adam replies, after a pause.

            "Are you sure you can handle Britt…" Shalimar protests.

            "I'm going to sedate him.  How does Brennan's readings look?" Adam asks. 

            "He's stable.  His readings are down a little, but I think we drained him…" Emma says.  

            "You contacted him again?"  Adam asks.

            Emma nods.  "I let Shalimar talk to him, I know it drains some of his strength, but I think he really needs us right now."

            Adam nods in agreement.  "Okay.  Let's get this over.  I want to get back here so I can get Brennan's mutations under control."

            Emma squeezes Brennan's hand as their teammates leave the lab.  


	16. Sixteen

"So I'm on my way   
I leave today   
If I get away   
It'll be ok   
It'll be ok…"

            -Limp Bizkit

            Emma's head is leaned against the edge of Brennan's bed, resting.  She has pulled up a chair.

            Brennan sits up with a jolt, cold yet sweating.  He glances around, confused but soon recognizes his surroundings.  His body is still tense with pain and he feels electricity surging through him.  He jerks as he realizes Emma's face is only inches from his skin.  He carefully and silently lowers himself from the bed to the floor.  Barefoot, he shakily walks from the lab, careful not to wake the sleeping telempath.  

            Brennan sits down, heavily, exhausted from the short walk from the lab to the computer console in the dojo.  He rubs his eyes, still foggy with sleep and pain that pulses with the beat of his heart.  Memories surfacing quickly, he studies the computer screen and finds two separate trips in progress. He punches in the communications password and hears Adam.

            "Jesse?  Shalimar?  Have you made it to Chelsea's apartment yet?" 

            Brennan punches some more keys.

            "Yes, Adam.  We're at her place now," Shalimar's voice sounds strained on the comlink.

            "Adam, she's dead.  There are no visible wounds, but there's blood coming from her ears…she bit her tongue off…" Jesse says, his voice low through the speakers.  

            Brennan's shaking intensifies as he realizes that he killed Chelsea from across town.  Electricity starts to build in his fingertips as his powers start to build.  

            "What about Britt?"  Shalimar asks.

            "He's been relocated."

            "What did you do?" Shalimar insists.

            Emma startles Brennan when she walks in.  "Brennan!" She gasps.

            "He's been erased.  I called in a favor from a mutant that is skilled in memory manipulation," Adam says over the speaker.

            "Brennan, you shouldn't be up…" Emma starts, paling as she realizes what he is listening to.  She hurries to his side.  

            Brennan holds up his hand, silently.  

            "Britt will never remember he has a brother…" Adam says before Emma shuts off the computer.  She turns to try and comfort him but freezes when she realizes that his eyes are bright green.

            "Emma, back away…I'm losing it again…" Brennan manages, pain blinding him.

            "Brennan, just hold on.  Look at me… focus on me for a minute and forget about all that…can you try?"  Emma pleads.

            Brennan steadies himself by standing up and putting his hands on his head.  He looks at Emma with one eye normal and one eye green.  

            "You have to fight it, Brennan, you're safe here and no one is going to hurt you except yourself…" Emma starts.

            "Exactly…did you hear them say that I killed Chelsea?  I killed her from here, while I was unconscious, Em.  I killed a woman without being in the same room with her…I'm dangerous…I'm unstable…" Brennan's eyes flash as his mind fills with images.  

            "Brennan!  No…look at me…" Emma impulsively rushes toward him.  When she touches him, a blast of white pain knocks her across the room into a plant.  Uninjured, she gets to her feet and starts back toward him.

            "Emma…I can't make it stop…will you tell everyone that I tried…I tried to make it stop…" Brennan chokes, kneeling with his back to her.  A field of white light encircles him from her reach. 

            "Brennan, no, whatever you're doing is not the right thing!  Stop it!  Brennan, please!" Emma screams.  

            "I'm not strong enough this time…my head can't take it…" Brennan replies.

            "Yes, you can!  Brennan, you are the strongest man I know, you can beat this, I know you can!" Emma says.

            "Emma…you don't know me…I've killed…I've hurt…this is for the best…" Brennan replies, his voice quieter.  The force field around him brightens.  

            "Brennan.  This is wrong…" Emma is unsure of what Brennan is planning but she can feel electricity crackling in the air.  Brennan shudders suddenly and the light vanishes, leaving him crumpled on the floor.

            "Brennan?"  Emma gasps, kneeling beside him.  His eyes open suddenly.

"Thank god, Brennan…" She sighs, as he looks at her.

            "Emma, I'm really sorry…" He whispers, running his hand across her face.  She falls to the floor, softly sleeping from his touch.

            Brennan unsteadily climbs to his feet and goes to his room to get some things.  He will not hurt his friends anymore.  He will make it all stop.


	17. Seventeen

*****I have tried to make this a fic without 'ships and I'm sorry so many of you thought it was going to be a B/E story or a B/S story.  The Mutant X team was meant to be portrayed as a familial group and the members as siblings rather than lovers.  Sorry for the disappointment.  Hope you'll keep reading anyways.*****

"Everything about me is wrong…"

                        -Far Too Jones

            "Emma?  Emma, where's Brennan?"  Adam urges, shaking her awake.

            "Brennan?"  She mumbles, still drowsy.  "Brennan put me to sleep…he heard what Adam and the others were saying over the radio…hmmm…" She falls back into the fluffy sleep.

            Jesse carries her to the couch and covers her with a blanket.  

            "His things are gone.  Not all of them, just some clothes and his books, but he packed…" Shalimar is breathless as she runs down the stairs.

            "Dammit…"

            "Adam, you erased his brother's memories.  Brennan did everything in his life because of Britt and you just took him out of the equation.  What do you think that's going to do to Brennan?  Even if Britt hated him for what he did, at least he knew that Brennan did it for him.  Brennan has nothing now, it's going to be like everything he did was for nothing," Shalimar explains, her face unreadable.

            "It was the only solution I could think of to neutralize Britt and save Brennan," Adam replies, pale.

            "I just want to make it clear that I think you made a bad decision," Shalimar says quietly.  Jesse is silent, torn.  Shal faces her leader after a beat.

"Now.  Where do we look for Brennan?"

            "His ring is lying on the computer console.  We can't track him that way.  He didn't take any of the cars so he must have left on foot and called a cab…" Jesse starts brainstorming aloud.

            "Vegas…he's in Vegas…" Emma mumbles from the couch.  She is still sleeping but her face shows that she is dreaming.

            "Emma?"  Shalimar goes to her side.  

            "Brennan…don't do it…please…" She mutters, upset.

            Shalimar takes her hand and finds herself in Emma's restless dreamscape.

            She sees Brennan dropping his duffle bag on the bed of a seedy hotel room bed.  Through the window she can see the neon lights of Las Vegas.  As Shalimar watches, Brennan pulls out a knife and slices his arm.  A flash of relief washes across his face, the pain seeming to comfort him.  He bandages his arm and sits down in the corner of the room, his head in his hands as he starts to shake.  

            Shalimar lets go of Emma's hand and nods to Adam.  "He's in Vegas in a hotel room.  Emma's somehow connected to him and I saw him.  We better hurry.  I'll carry Emma."  Shalimar scoops up the petite woman and follows Adam and Jesse to the hangar.  

******

            "I'm sorry, sir, but there is no one registered at the hotel by that name…" The receptionist at the front desk tells Jesse as Adam and Shalimar sneak past into the inner parlor.

            "Where did the computer say?"  Adam questions Shalimar.  He didn't speak much on the flight to Vegas and hasn't spoken since they entered the hotel.

            "Room 77.  Ahead on the left.  Should we knock?" Shalimar asks.

            "Of course.  If what you saw is true, though, he won't answer.  I imagine he's going to be a little off-center from the stress," Adam says, quietly.

            "Adam," Shalimar says, turning to him outside of Brennan's hotel room.  "What I said back at Sanctuary…"

            "Don't, Shalimar.  You're right.  I should have thought of another way.  I let Brennan down…I let all of you down.  But right now, we have to get Brennan safe."  Adam doesn't meet the feral's eyes.  

            Shalimar nods silently and knocks on the door.  No one answers.  She absently tries the knob and finds that it is unlocked.  She swings the door open and steps into the room.  

            "You shouldn't come in here, Shalimar," Brennan's voice says inside her mind.  She turns to Adam.  

            "Did you hear that?"  Shalimar asks.

            Adam shakes his head.  "Hear what?"

            "Shalimar.  Don't let Adam in this room.  You can come in if you keep Adam out there.  Please," Brennan says in her mind.

            "Adam, stay here.  I'll explain in a few minutes.  Stand right here until I say something, okay?"  Shalimar says, her eyes pleading.  She is frightened by Brennan's tone of voice.  

            "Okay…" Adam hesitates but stands still.

            Shalimar steps into the open area of the room.  She spots Brennan huddled in a corner.  She steps slowly toward him and finally ends up on her knees in front of his crumpled form.

            "Hey, Shal," He says, not raising his eyes from the floor.  His voice is barely audible.

            "Hey, Brennan.  Hey."  She smiles, sadly.  She reaches out and raises his chin so she can see his face.

            "I'm not having a good day…" He says, his brown eyes dull with pain.  

            "Me either.  You scared me," Shalimar says, taking his hands in hers, trying to keep her eyes from the jagged cuts on his hands and arms.  

            "I'm sorry.  I left…I can't so I wouldn't keep hurting the people I love…I want it to stop…" Brennan says, his eyes distant.  

            "Come back with me.  Come back with us.  Let somebody else take care of you for once.  Brennan?"  Shalimar says his name as she sees his attention drifting.  "Adam's here."

            "I know.  Jesse's here too.  Emma…I think Emma's still sleeping.  You guys are really tired," Brennan says, distantly.

            "Brennan.  Will you come back?"  Shalimar asks. 

            "I…I want to come back…Sanctuary is my home now…but I can't come back until I make it stop…I'm trying…I'm trying to pull myself out of this but…" Brennan's eyes reflect his desperation.

            "You need rest.  You need to rest.  Nobody can hurt you now.  You need to rest your mind so you can figure everything out.  Come on.  I won't take you anywhere yet.  Just lie down on the bed.  Come on," Shalimar coaxes Brennan onto the bed.  Adam watches silently from the foyer, his face unreadable.

            "I can't sleep…the nightmares…" Brennan says, his face vulnerable.  

            "Shh.  I'm right here.  Sleep for just a little while.  I'll wake you up if I see you starting to dream.  Trust me, Brennan."

            Brennan nods, exhausted.  "Shal," He whispers.  She looks at him.  Inside her mind she hears him say, "Don't let Adam near me until I'm sleeping.  I can't deal with him right now…"

            She nods and her gaze doesn't leave his until his eyes close.  


	18. Eighteen

**Sorry for the delay, folks.  Thanks to all the people who have been begging me for updates.  My muse has been maimed and I'm not sure when she'll be back in action, but I hope this little snippet will satisfy your appetites for a while until she is back at work.**

"How can you see into my eyes   
like open doors.  
Leading you down into my core   
where I've become so numb.  
Without a soul  
my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold   
until you find it there and lead it back home…"

            -Evanescence "Bring Me To Life"

            Brennan wakes up with a jolt, a scream caught in his throat.

            "Whoa, Brennan, whoa, you're safe…" Shalimar is immediately beside him, holding her cellular phone in her free hand.

            "Shalimar, what…" Brennan starts to questions, but stops as his memory returns.

            "You okay?" Shalimar asks, concerned.

            "Is Jesse here?" Brennan asks, glancing around.

            "He's in the bathroom…"

            "You shouldn't be alone with me," Brennan states, flatly.

            "No, Bren, it's not that, he was worried," Shalimar begins, paling.

            "I was just stating a fact, Shalimar." When he glances up at her, his eyes are iridescent.  "I'm not stable enough to be around anyone right now.  That's why I came here."

            "Brennan?  You're awake?"  Jesse appears.

            "For the moment." Brennan realizes that his sliced arms have been bandaged and his ring has been replaced on his finger.  "Where's Adam?"

            "He's with Emma.  You put quite a whammy on her.  She's been sleeping for 2 days now," Shalimar says, quietly.  

            "I feel like she was in my dreams…watching," Brennan replies.

            "How are you feeling?" Shalimar questions.

            "I don't know.  I hurt all over…but I guess the intensity is better…I guess…" Brennan replies, quietly.  His eyes are flashing, fast, and the effect startles Shalimar and Jesse.

            "What is it?  What's wrong?"  Brennan panics, seeing their faces.  He starts to try and bolt.

            Shalimar holds him by the shoulders against the bed.  "Brennan, relax.  Your eyes…they're flashing different colors again, but it's faster…" She puts a hand against his forehead, feeling for fever.  He jerks away from her touch.

            "Jumpy?"  Jesse jokes, trying to relieve some of the tension.

            "More like electrified," Shalimar replies, quietly.

            "Exactly…I need to get up.  How long have I been sleeping?"  Brennan questions, pushing himself to a sitting position.

            "Since yesterday.  You're exhausted, Brennan, maybe you should…" Shalimar begins.

            "I should start pulling myself out of this funk, that's what I should do, Shal," Brennan interrupts.  "I'm going to take a shower.  The water should help my control, it dulls my powers," he says.  "Maybe then I can hold a conversation without having to work so hard to keep control."

            "Brennan," Jesse calls to the larger man.  "We're not leaving without you.  You know that, right?"

            "I know.  Don't you want me to be strong enough to go with you?  I'll be out in a few minutes," Brennan replies, stepping into the bathroom.

            "What do you think?  You think he's serious?" Jesse questions.

            "I think we have to trust him.  Either he's going in there to slash his wrists again, or he'll be back out after a shower.  We have to trust him," Shalimar says, clearly unsure.  

            "The cutting, I just don't understand it," Jesse admits.

            "I had a friend, a human friend who used to do it.  She said that tension and disgust would build up inside her…she would cut herself, she said the pain was like a release of all the pent up emotions.  She was desperately ashamed of it, but she couldn't stop.  She said she was afraid of what would happen if she didn't release it in time…" Shalimar explains, thoughtful.  "The pain must distract him from all the shit going on inside his head," she adds.

            "I guess that makes sense…more than whatever I was thinking," Jesse replies.  

            Shalimar's ring buzzes for her attention.

            "Yeah, Adam?" She answers.

            "Emma's awake.  How's Brennan?" He asks.

            "He's taking a shower.  He's more coherent today, more in control," Shalimar replies.

            "Good.  Tell him…Tell him I would like to talk to him when he's ready," Adam says, hesitating.

            "What's up, Adam?"  Shalimar senses something in her leader's voice.

            "Nothing…Emma, she was witness to some of Brennan's dreams…nightmares, actually…and I want to talk to him about them…"

            "Adam, his dreams, they're his.  I don't know if you should tell him what she saw.  It seems kind of intrusive," Jesse remarks.

            "Very intrusive, Adam.  I think you've done enough right now," Shalimar adds.

            "Okay.  When he's ready to talk to me, I'll be here," Adam concedes.  He turns off the communicator.

            "Adam's really flipping out over this.  He's making bad decisions," Jesse sighs.  

            Shalimar shakes her head.  "I can't believe what he did to Britt.  I mean, I can't think of another solution…but he at least should have talked to Brennan about it.  I mean, he erased all memory of Brennan's existence from his twin brother's mind.  That's so harsh," she says.

            "It's not important now," Brennan says, opening the door to the bathroom, dressed in a robe.  His hair is still wet.

            "You heard?" Jesse questions.

            "Just the last comment," He says, his eyes still flashing frantically.  "But it doesn't matter now," He says.  He is remarkably calm.

            "Why?"

            "Britt's dead.  He blew his brains out a few hours ago," Brennan says, blankly.

            Shalimar and Jesse gasp.  "What?"

            "Adam erased the memories from Britt, but he didn't sever the connection.  I could still get inside Britt's mind," Brennan says, not facing them as he gathers some clothes.  "I saw and felt what he was going through.  Whoever altered his memories wasn't thorough enough.  He still had memories of me, of us in the compound.  But with the erased parts, he didn't understand.  He thought he was going insane.  He put his gun in his mouth and gave up a few hours ago," Brennan says, his face still emotionless.

            "Oh, Bren, I'm so sorry…" Shalimar says, shaken. 

            "It's not your fault.  He did it to himself.  You don't have to tell Adam, it'll only upset him and make him blame himself.  He did what he thought was the only option.  It's okay," Brennan says, turning around. 

            "Brennan, you're lying," Shalimar says.  "You're not okay."

            "Oh, I know.  But I've got control of myself again.  Except for my eyes, I can't get them to stop flashing.  I'm in control right now, even if it's just for a little while.  I'm going to get dressed," Brennan says, his voice still controlled.

            "You can't keep pushing all your problems away, Brennan, you can't keep hiding from them!" Shalimar calls through the closing door.

            "I don't know how to do anything else," Brennan's voice replies.


	19. Nineteen

"Last time you fell and you hit hard  
Your wounds have healed by now  
But you still see your scars…"

            Three Doors Down

            "Let's get out of here," Brennan says, following Shalimar and Jesse into Adam's hotel suite.  

            "Brennan?"  Emma calls, walking out, surprised.

            "Hey, Em.  Sorry about the sleeping thing," Brennan apologizes, enfolding her into a hug.  

            "It's okay, I'm awake now.  I feel pretty rested, too, so that's good," Emma replies, examining him worriedly.  His flashing eyes startle her but not as much as the dark block she finds when she tries to probe his mind.

            "You probably don't want to go in there right now," Brennan whispers to her as he walks past her.  

            "Brennan, how are you feeling?" Adam questions, trying to keep his cool demeanor and not show his anxiety.

            "I'm hanging in.  I needed a little time to gather myself…I didn't get as much as I would have liked, but it'll do.  Now I'm ready to go home," Brennan replies, his face calm except for his flickering eyes.  

            "You seem to have made a quick recovery," Emma says, concerned.

            "I'm not recovered, Em, just a little more reality-based.  I was really out of it for a while…I'll probably lose it again at some point, but right now, I'm hanging in," Brennan replies, his voice colder than his friends' recognize.  

            Adam is unconvinced.  "Brennan, I don't want to take you back if you're not ready.  You obviously felt like you needed to get away…"

            "It wasn't Sanctuary that I needed to get away from," Brennan interrupts, quietly.  Adam flushes.

            Emma starts to speak but Brennan waves his hand at her.

            "I needed to get away from all the attention," Brennan replies.  "I didn't have control and I was getting all these emotions from everyone around me.  Even if you weren't there, it was like the feelings settled around me and I couldn't shake them off…I can't explain it.  I had to be by myself for a while so I could sort out my own feelings and remember how to block off my senses.  I'm better now.  I need to rest.  I feel like I haven't slept in weeks."

            Adam is silent, thinking and trying to interpret Brennan's strange demeanor.  

            "Well, it'll save you the money on a plane ticket back, right, Bren?"  Jesse says, breaking the silence.

            Shalimar and Emma go into the adjoining room to gather their things.  

            "I guess we're going home," Shalimar says, unsure.

            "I don't get Adam at all…does he want Brennan to stay here, in Vegas?  I thought we came out here to get him and bring him home…" Emma says.

            "What did Adam explain to you when he woke up?"  Shalimar questions.

            "He said that I had talked in my sleep and told him what Brennan heard.  He said you connected with me and read my dreams.  That's all.  What's up?"

            "I said some things to Adam that made him doubt his decision about Britt.  I think he was wrong…now I know he was wrong…" Shalimar remembers Brennan's earlier confession.  "But maybe now, he's trying to make it right.  Brennan wouldn't let Adam in his room yesterday, he was still so upset, but today he walked right in and started talking to him.  There's a lot of tension but it's better that I ever expected this soon," She admits.  "If Brennan needs a few more days to get himself together, we should give it to him."

            "Brennan…he talked to you and Jesse…what's changed since yesterday?  Why is Brennan stable now?"  Emma questions.

            Shalimar hesitates.  

            "I won't tell Adam," Emma says, reading her friend's face.  

            Shalimar glance up as Jesse enters, closing the door behind him.  "Brennan's going to get his things.  Adam's checking us out of the room."

Jesse explains.

            "What, Shalimar?"  Emma urges.

            "Britt's dead," Shalimar says. "The memory manipulation didn't work completely, there were leftover memories and it was too much for Britt to handle.  He couldn't connect the images in his brain and he thought he was going nuts.  He shot himself in the head."

            Emma sighs, realizing the impact of Britt's death to Brennan.  "If that's true, then why do you two think Brennan's in control?  It should have pushed him over the edge entirely," She says.

            "I think it brought him back," Shalimar says.  He realized that he hasn't been living his life for Britt in a long time.  Maybe he remembered that we're his family now…"

            "Girls, maybe Brennan is just better," Jesse interrupts.  "As a guy, I can testify that it sucks to let your friends see you when you're weak.  Maybe he just got the perspective that he needed and decided to be strong, whether it's fake or not.  I think we should let Brennan do whatever he needs to do.  He wants to go home, so we go home.  That's all that needs to be said," Jesse says, leaving.

            "You think he's right?"  Emma asks.

            "I don't think anyone's right anymore," She replies honestly.


	20. Twenty

__

AN: Sorry for the lack of updates, I seem to be cursed with the inability to finish stories but I'm trying to snap myself out of that funk and post on all the stories that I've abandoned. I know this is a short chapter but I hope it will rewhet the appetites of all the people that have read this story in the past. Please don't hate me! Please still be interested!

"…There's no one to trust except maybe the two of us   
But that's in the past the place where I'm living…"

--Third Eye Blind

Brennan is silent on the plane ride back to Sanctuary despite Jesse's upbeat chatter. 

"I'll be upstairs," Brennan says once they step off the plane in Sanctuary's hangar. 

"Brennan." Shalimar catches up to him on the stairs, leaving the others stunned. 

"Shal, please…" He turns to her with his eyes flashing too rapidly to identify the colors. "I need a minute."

"Just tell me you're okay and I'll give you a minute." 

"I'll be okay in a minute," He replies, electricity trickling down his arm. 

"Brennan…"

"Shal, just chill." He turns and rushes up the stairs.

Shalimar turns to Adam and the others that have just entered. 

"What, Shal? Is Brennan okay?" Jesse asks.

"No. But he'll be okay," Shal replies, shakily.

Brennan drops his bags in his room as a tremor of blue energy engulfs his body. He makes it to the bathroom and turns on the water with his telekinesis. 

He loses his tenuous control in a burst of flame that he manages to direct at the running water. 

Cursing his weakness he grabs a straight edge razor from the sink before slumping to his knees. As the energy building up in his system starts to cause him to convulse violently, Shalimar and Jesse rush in.

"Stay back…" Brennan manages, his flashing eyes dulling his vision as he loses all control. He gives in to the pulsing forces building in his mind.

Adam and Emma have joined Shal and Jesse in the doorway.

"He said to stay back," Shal explains to Adam. 

Emma blanches, stepping from the room. "It's…he's got so much power…" She gasps, sitting down on the carpet in the bedroom, stunned.

Adam, Shal and Jesse watch in horror as Brennan's body starts to fade as flame engulfs him.

Brennan gasps suddenly, finding his way out of the darkness and focusing on the core of his power. He has been struggling with his control for days now, and this way is the closest he's come to finding control. He clenches his fists and harnesses all the different forces that are battling for release inside him. He closes his eyes and forces the power back down, deep inside of his mind. When he opens his eyes again, he isn't in Sanctuary. He is in a white room.

"Oh shit. What have I done?" Brennan gasps. 

"Why are you killing me?" Britt appears and Brennan knows that he must be trapped inside his own mind. Again. Damn.

"You're dead."

"I know. But you're not. Why are you killing me?" Britt repeats.

"Why are you confusing me?" Brennan retorts.

"It's your head, you tell me."

"This is useless," Brennan sighs.

"Maybe. Why are you killing me? Let me go. Let me be free."

"You're dead, Britt. I felt the bullet go into your head," Brennan says, quietly.

"I'm not Britt."

"Who are you?"

"I'm you, stupid."

Brennan is confused. 

"Release me, Brennan, or I'll die," Britt says.

"I…I…"

"You can't just shut me out. You can't stifle me, I'll die. I'm wild…" Britt's hair turns to flame. "I need to live, I need to breathe…" His hands turn to flame as he starts to smoke.

"Stop it…"

"Can't you see you're killing me?"

"Who are you?" Brennan demands.

"I'm you, Brennan, and I'm dying…"

Brennan sits up with a jolt on the bathroom floor. Adam, Shalimar and Jesse are standing, worried, at the edge of the room.

"Brennan?" Shalimar calls. 

"I'm back. I'm here."

"What the hell just happened?" Jesse questions.

Brennan drops the razor that he has been clenching in his fist. The pain didn't help him this time. The blood that pours from his sliced hand is only that. Blood. It's not sizzling or smoking. It's all he has left of his humanity. He doesn't answer Jesse. He stares at the dripping crimson that is his life. 


	21. Twenty One

****

"I'll stay strong, I'll be fine   
Carry on with my life   
I still stare at the sky   
Pray for rain, all the time…"

--Cold  


"Brennan, look at me. Look at me, Brennan!" Shalimar takes his face in her hands and makes him meet her gaze.

Brennan looks at her with unfocused flashing eyes. 

"Brennan?"

"I…I'm damned, aren't I? There's nothing else to do…" He mutters to himself. "I don't know why I'm even fighting it…"

Jesse shakes Emma, who is still outside of the room. "Emma, we need you, Brennan needs you…"

"I can't. He's too powerful…It's killing him…" Emma mutters, still shaken by the blast of power she sensed from Brennan. Jesse stays with her, trying to help her regain her senses.

Shalimar and Adam are by Brennan's side. 

"Brennan?" Shalimar whispers.

"Hey, Shal. Sorry about that…" Brennan shakes off his daze and recovers his composure. Adam is holding a towel on his bleeding hand.

"Brennan. We need to do something…" Adam starts.

"Okay, Adam. I give up. Just fix me," Brennan says, resigned. He takes his hand away from Adam, holding the towel tightly around his bleeding hand. He shakes off Shalimar's concerned hand and gets to his feet. He walks past his friends into the lab. Adam follows him, several steps behind. 

"Brennan…"

"I don't want to talk. I want you to fix me. I don't care what you do, but you have to do something," Brennan states, holding his bleeding hand under a faucet and then wrapping it with gauze.

"Brennan. We need to talk…" Adam starts again.

"I'm done talking. Scan me, Adam. Tell me all about my DNA mutating and how you're going to fix it. Better yet, don't tell me anything. I need some quiet," Brennan says, flatly. His face is blank and Adam cannot tell whether he is angry, upset or just indifferent.

Adam silently motions for Brennan to lie down on the table and he begins running a diagnostic of tests. Brennan lies there in silence. Adam steps beside him to try and take a blood sample.

"Brennan, I need to take a blood sample," Adam says, quietly. Brennan puts his arm out and Adam tries to ignore the self-inflicted scabs and scars on his wrist and arm. Adam gently fills a syringe with a blood sample and steps back. Brennan gets up suddenly and rushes into the bathroom to vomit. He returns, paler. He lies back down on the table.

"You okay?"

"Your guilt. It's making me sick. Sorry," Brennan says, quietly. "I haven't figured out how to shield myself from other people's emotions yet…"

"Brennan…"

"You had no other choice, Adam, I don't just get the one side. I get the guilt and I get your reasoning behind it. I…I've just got other shit on my mind right now without questioning your motives. I know you were doing what you thought was best…"

"Britt is not going to bother you anymore, Brennan…" Adam starts.

Brennan puts a hand to his head, as if in pain. "You don't know the half of it, Adam," He replies, quietly.

"What do you mean?" Adam asks, concerned by the younger man's tone. "Has he tried to contact you?"

"Drop it, Adam," Brennan says, still holding his head. His eyes begin to flash rapidly again and he blinks, losing focus.

"No, Brennan, I need to know if…" Adam starts.

"No, you don't…I mean it, Adam. Just leave it alone," Brennan mutters, hopping off the table and starting to pace. Adam realizes that every time he takes a step, flames lick at his feet. 

One of the scans that Adam was running signals its results. He leaves Brennan for a moment and glances at the computer screen. 

"…Fuck…" Brennan mutters. Adam turns quickly and sees that Brennan is hovering several inches off the floor and he is engulfed in flames. He doesn't appear to be burning because he is not crying out in pain, but his face is tight with tension.

"Brennan!" Adam calls out.

"Hang on," Brennan says, slowly starting to spin in midair as Emma and Shalimar step into the lab. Brennan, still aflame, slowly falls to his knees and the flames fade back into his skin.

"Well, that was interesting," Brennan mutters, his eyes normal for the first time in days. He lets Emma and Shalimar help him to his feet.

"Brennan, why don't you get some sleep and I'll come in and talk to you when I know something, okay?" Adam asks, quietly.

"I think I should stay in here," Brennan replies, quietly. "I'm a little flammable."

"Come on, Brennan. We'll stay with you. If you start to burn, we'll spray you down," Emma says, taking his arm. He shakes off her hand. 

"Okay," He agrees, subdued.

"Why are you so sensitive today? You're pulling away from Emma like…" Shalimar questions, seeing his sudden movement. His eyes flash light blue for an instant.

"I'm having some control issues from my new psionic side," Brennan interrupts, quietly. 

"Oh. Come on, then," Shalimar pulls on his shirt and the two girls walk with him out. 


End file.
